Oracle Champions Multi-Channel Application Development

Oracle has delivered new 12c releases of its Java Development Tools and Framework. Oracle Application Development Framework, Oracle JDeveloper, and Oracle Enterprise Pack for Eclipse have all been updated and refreshed to enable developers to build multi-channel (i.e., web, cloud, and on-premise) applications.

NOTE: Oracle JDeveloper is a free IDE designed to simplify the development of Java-based enterprise applications.

Oracle JDeveloper 12c ships with a new dependency explorer to help understand the impact of changes in code; Enhanced Maven and Git support for better application lifecycle management; new memory and CPU profilers; new JSF visual editor; support for HTML5 and CSS3 in the code editor; and a new integrated Swing editor provide easier development of web and desktop interfaces.

The releases here have support for the firm's Cloud Application Foundation product family and, in line with this, there is also news of Oracle WebLogic Server 12.1.2 and Oracle Coherence 12.1.2 also being announced at this time.

This software is designed to enable easier development of web user interfaces for tablets and other gesture-based devices; it also extends support for REST, JPA/EJB business services, and HTML5 technologies; also featured is improved support for Maven for simpler build and continuous integration.

Oracle's developer proposition here is built to suggest to us that the firm offers a complete integrated set of application development tools that support a wide variety of development approaches, technology platforms, and operating systems.

Chris Tonas of Oracle's Application Development Tools division explains that with these latest releases, Oracle is providing a multi-channel Java EE-based development framework — i.e. ,Oracle ADF is used to develop Oracle Fusion Applications as well as other Oracle products and applications. "Customers use the framework to accelerate their development and create richer custom applications that can be deployed across multiple channels," he said.

Tonas says that Oracle ADF "protects organizations from technology shifts" by providing an abstraction layer on top of specific technologies, allowing applications to adopt new UI technologies through support within the framework rather than requiring them to be rewritten.

Also here we find Oracle Enterprise Pack for Eclipse, a free set of Eclipse-based plug-ins that enable developers to build Oracle ADF, Java EE, and Spring-based enterprise applications for the Oracle Fusion Middleware platform and the Oracle Cloud.